State prosecutors don’t want people who live near the university to sit as jurors in Jerry Sandusky’s pending child sex-abuse trial. Sandusky, 68, is a former Penn State assistant football coach who faces 52 criminal counts for alleged sexual misconduct involving boys over 15 years. On Friday, the prosecution will attempt to convince the judge to fill the jury section with people outside the State College area. The proceeding before Judge John M. Cleland also wants to request that Sandusky’s house arrest bail is altered. He wants to see his 11 grandchildren and be allowed to communicate with them by computer or phone.
On the opposing side, the attorney general’s office wants Cleland to limit Sandusky indoors. On Tuesday, prosecutors reported Sandusky had been seen by neighbors on his back porch watching children play in an adjacent schoolyard. The neighborhood raised concerns for the safety of the children. The attorney general’s office said, “Such concerns will only mushroom if defendant is permitted to roam at will outside his house.” Friday’s hearing is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. EST.
